| Aappliances such as electric blankets
and heaters get pulled out of storage and plugged in around many homes.
These common appliances, as well as clothes dryers, fireplaces and
braziers help keep us comfortable through the cold months of winter,
but misuse, faulty wiring and leaving them unattended can lead to
preventable fires and potential tragedy.
Who is
at risk? Some people in our communities are at more risk of dying in a house
fire at any time of the year, including:
- People aged 65 years and over;
- Children aged between zero and five years;
- People not in the workforce;
- People living in rental properties; and
- Adults affected by alcohol.
However, everyone's risk increases over the winter months and extra
care and precautions need to be taken.
What can you do to reduce your risk?
With research showing that more people die in house fires during the
winter months than any other time of the year, it is important to protect
yourself - so the start of the chilly season is the ideal time to install
and maintain smoke alarms.
Security bars and screen doors can block your escape in a fire. You
need smoke alarms and a home escape plan to ensure you don't get trapped
by your home security.
Simple steps such as developing home a home escape plan and keeping
smoke alarms in working order can give you the vital seconds you need
to survive a fire.
Firefighters also recommend that you adopt some simple safety habits
such as:
- Turning electric blankets off before getting into bed;
- Ensuring appliances are turned off at the wall and home fires extinguished
when not in use;
- Getting your appliances checked for frayed and damaged cords by
a licensed electrician;
- Keeping clothing at least one metre away from heaters when drying
inside;
- When using a clothes dryer, ensuring you don't leave it unattended
and the lint filter is cleaned out after use.
The Elderly Community
Every home should have properly installed and operating smoke alarm in it, however it may not be possible for aged members of the community to climb ladders to install smoke alarms, or just as importantly, to change batteries when they run out. Firefighters are asking people to lend a hand to their elderly relatives or neighbours to change a battery or put a battery-operated smoke alarm up - It only takes 10 minutes to help someone and that's ten minutes that could save a life.
Other quick safety checks include testing that appliances that have been stored away over summer or are showing signs of wear and tear are still safe to use, and double-checking appliances such as electric blankets and heaters are turned off before going to bed or leaving the house.
While the focus should be on fire safety and prevention, knowing what to if a fire does break out in the home is equally as important. You need to have an evacuation plan in place to make sure that everybody gets out of the house alive - when a fire breaks out in the home, you only have a few minutes to escape The trend towards a higher level of household security, particularly amongst the older community, has a downside in that it makes it more difficult for people to get out in a hurry and more difficult for firefighters to get into a home quickly if they need to.
Householders should draw up and practice a home fire evacuation plan and to encourage relatives and friends to do the same.
Renters
Often tenants think their landlords are responsible for fitting smoke
alarms, but landlords are not under any legal obligation to install
smoke alarms in residential properties built before 1997. The onus
is on tenants to protect themselves by fitting and maintaining their
own smoke alarms, or approaching their landlord about getting them
fitted.
Firefighters
encourage landlords to fit smoke alarms in residential properties,
but also encourage tenants to take responsibility for their own safety.
Fires will happen, no matter how careful you are and the sooner you
know there's a fire, the quicker you, you family or flatmates can
escape. Smoke alarms are the best early warning systems available.
If you're living in a home without a smoke alarm you need to install
one or talk to your landlord about installing one - for as little
as $10 you'll sleep a lot safer.
With
the landlord's permission you can take battery operated smoke alarms
with you when you move on to reinstall in your new place. So there
is no reason to not have smoke alarm protection – they are cheap,
portable, easy to install, easy to maintain – and they save lives.
In a single level home, one smoke alarm may be sufficient if all of
the bedrooms connect to a common passageway leading from the living
areas. However, if people sleep with their bedroom doors closed, a
smoke alarm should also be installed in each bedroom, particularly
if heaters or electrical appliances are used in those rooms.
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